Sorry, crappy photo, but it's the only one I have from before beginning
this weekend. It's the four of us this weekend, getting ready to
pile into the 2 week old Dodge Quad Cab. I started the first leg
of the 7 hour drive and everybody else decided it was time to crash.
The 2001 trip was marked by having near-perfect trail conditions.
A heavy snowfall occurred just days before our arrival and left
all the tress with a snow-white finish.
As you might expect, we did a lot of sight-seeing. Simply stopping
along the trail to enjoy the peacefulness of the deep woods is always
enjoyable.
As day grew towards night we decided to race towards some waterfalls
to get a shot at some photo ops. We arrived just in time.
However, the only drawback to the whole weekend was getting lost
on Turtle Flambeau Flowage in the dark immediately after leaving
the falls. We decided to try and cross this large lake just after
sun fall, even though none of us had been on it before in the daylight.
It turned out this lake was poorly marked - only the main trial
was marked with NO indications of where to turn for bars, resorts,
auxiliary trails, etc. So we ended up driving in one big circle
for over an hour. By the time we figured out how to get off that
frozen pond, we were all exhausted and cold.
Thankfully we were able to hop onto trail 17 and cruise home quickly.
Halfway there we came across the "TrailSide Inn," a small
bar on the trail. They were closed for an anniversary party that
evening, but once they spotted how cold my wife was they let us
right in. They allowed us to share their party food at no cost,
and even made hot chocolate for Kim. We paid for beers, and left
a nice fat tip for their generosity.
Check out the remainder of the
trip photos from 2001.
To see the story and photos from other years in Minocqua please
view ~
2004 ~ 2005
~ 2006
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